Water Governance in Australia
Gemma Van Halderen
Head, Environment Statistics Program
Australian Bureau of Statistics
May 2006
Presentation outline
y
Brief outline of institutional and legal frameworks in
Australia
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What impact do the frameworks have on water resource
management and integrated information systems in
Australia?
Roles in Australia
As far as possible, the roles of water resource
management, standard setting and regulatory
enforcement and service provision are institutionally
separated in Australia
Australian Government
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Policy development
Matters of National
Significance
State Governments
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Rights to control and
use water is vested in 6
State and 2 Territory
Governments who
determine the
conditions on which
water is made available
to others eg licences to
irrigators
NORTHERN
TERRITORY
QUEENSLAND
WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
SOUTH
AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH
WALES
VICTORIA
TASMANIA
Other features
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Australian Water Supply Industry is primarily in
public ownership
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Various bodies administer a vast array of
regulation eg water resource management, water
quality, pricing, and environmental impacts
National Water Initiative
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Intergovernmental Agreement in recognition of continuing national
imperative to increase the productivity and efficiency of Australia's water
use, the need to service rural and urban communities, and to ensure the
health of river and groundwater systems by establishing clear pathways to
return all systems to environmentally sustainable levels of extraction.
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Signed in December 2004, but builds on a 1994 strategic framework for
efficient and sustainable reform of the Australian water industry
Objectives of the National Water Initiative
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A nationally- compatible, market, regulatory and planning based system of
managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use that
optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes by.....
Objectives of the National Water Initiative
ƒ
A nationally- compatible, market, regulatory and planning based system of
managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use that
optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes by.....
¾ (vii) water accounting which is able to meet the information needs of
different water systems in respect to planning, monitoring, trading,
environmental management and off-farm management
Objectives of the National Water Initiative
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Clauses 80-89 relate to Water Resource Accounting
¾82 (iii) calls for the development and implementation of water resource
accounts that can be reconciled annually and aggregated to produce a
national water balance
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Clause 104-108 relate to monitoring and review
¾105 (i) says the Water Commission will undertake a baseline assessment
of the water resource and governance arrangements
¾106 then calls for bienniel assessments thereafter
Intergovernmental Forums
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The NWI is a project of the Council of Australian Governments.
¾COAG is the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia comprising the
Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers, and President
of the Australian Local Government Association.
Ministerial Councils
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Ministerial Councils
¾facilitate national implementation of plans and proposals which would
not otherwise be possible because of the limitations imposed by the
division of constitutional powers between Aust, State and Territory
governments.
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Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council
¾ responsible for primary industries, natural resources, environment and
water policy
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Murray Darling Basin Ministerial Council
¾responsible for providing the policy and direction needed to implement
the Murray-Darling Basin Initiative
Institutional Bodies
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National Water Commission
¾responsible for driving national water reform and assisting the states
and territories to implement the National Water Initiative
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Department for the Environment and Heritage
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Prime Ministers Department
Murray Darling Basin Commission
National Land and Water Resource Audit
State and Territory bodies
Programs
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National Water Initiative
¾Australia's highly variable and often scarce water resources are crucial for our
economic, social and environmental well-being. We need to improve the productivity and
efficiency of our water use, while maintaining healthy river and ground-water systems. The
NWI addresses the vital importance of such questions to Australia.
"
National Water Initiative Project Linkages
Current NWI Projects
Long Term Outcomes
National
Reporting
guidelines for
reporting
Develop guidelines
will develop some
reporting formats
(Dec 06)
Set of standards for
Metering &
Standards
for
Standards
for production
and
accuracy of
of meters
production
measuring
meters including for
data collection and
data quality
requirements
meters
Develop standards
(Jan 06)
Define national
framework for water
accounting
Water
accounting
Develop framework Examine
systems
(March 06)
(April 06)
Stocktake
Baseline
assessment
of water resources
information
(April 06)
Develop framework Collect
data
Develop framework Collect
data
(May 06)
indicators
Data gathering
Data gathering from
from
jurisdictions
indicators
Define information
Define
requirements
for assessing
performance
of water delivery
information
utilities
Enduring
information
assessment for
04 - 05 period
explanatory purposes
systems for
annual reporting
(Nov 06)
First populated
Analysis
jurisdictions
indicators
requirements
guidelines
(June 06)
some data useful for
Assessment of
effectiveness of NWI
set of
performance
indicators
some data useful for
some common
Define
Benchmarking
framework
standards and
First baseline
Analysis
jurisdictions
Define
Define
information requirements for
performance
indicators
performance
(June 06)
Benchmarking
Data gathering
Data gathering from
from
jurisdictions
Development and
implementation of
will support info systems
identified
some common
Define
NWI performance
indicators
guidelines are needed
for standards and
some gaps
(April 06 onwards)
requirements
Develop framework Collect
data
will inform what standards and
guidelines
Define information requirements for
baseline assessment.
Define Consult with
jurisdictions on data availability.
indicators
(June 06)
Step 4 –
Recommendations
(Junefor
06)
Recommendations
standards
and guidelines
Step 3 –
Analysis
Analysis
requirements
Information provided to avoid duplication of
data gathering
(March-April 06)
Performance
(May 06)
Stocktake of systems and
practicesStep
of jurisdictions
and
2 –
water service providers
Step
1 –
Define
information
requirements for
stocktake
Define
info
explanatory purposes
(Oct 06)
Data gathering
Data from
jurisdictions
gathering &
industry associations
from industry
associations
Analysis
(Mid 2007)
First populated
National
National
Benchmarking
Benchmarking
Framework
Framework
Assessment of
efficiency of water
delivery utilities
systems development
systems development
performance assessment
data
Programs (continued)
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Murray Darling Basin Initiative
¾The MDBI is the largest integrated catchment management program in
the world, covering the watersheds of the Murray and Darling Rivers, an area
of over one million square kms.
¾Program designed to rescue the level of water overallocation and to
achieve specific environmental outcomes in the Murray-Darling Basin
Programs (continued)
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Water Fund
¾investment in water infrastructure, improved knowledge and water management, and
better practices in the stewardship of Australia's scarce water resources. The
investments are made consistent with and help to achieve the objectives, outcomes and
actions of the NWI.
¾Water Accounting has been identified as a priority area
ƒ National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality
¾includes targets and standards for natural resource management, particularly
salinity and water quality
Programs (continued)
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Natural Heritage Trust
¾designed to help restore and conserve Australia's environment and natural resources.
¾provides funding for environmental activities at a community , regional, and National/State
level.
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National Land and Water Resources Audit
¾particular initiative of the NHT
¾mission is to provide data, information and nationwide assessments of Australia's land, water
and biological resources to support sustainable development
¾data coordination and information role
Impact on Water Resource Management (from an NSO
perspective)
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There is a complex, interwoven, set of institutional and legal frameworks
within Australia to manage water resources
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The different perspectives that need to be brought together are diverse
¾engineering, financial accounting, macro-economic policy, water policy,
statistics, hydrologists, climatatologists
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Many of Australia's programs are administered from a regional
(non-national) perspective
Impact on Water Resource Management
(from an NSO perspective)
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Integration can be helped but not ensured by having basic building blocks such
as statistical standards, geographical standards, environmental accounting
frameworks, etc
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National Statistical Offices can aid integration by being a trusted advisor to
all players.
¾We are also an organisation that can offer many roles in an integrated
information system.
–trust, reliability, credibility, enduring, relevance, transparency, .....
Impact on Water Resource Management (from an NSO
perspective)
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Impacts on collection
¾proliferation of collectors of information
¾not all information collected on a national basis, or using nationally consistent
approaches
¾information is both scientific measurement data as well as statistical
observation data
¾collection can be one-off
¾in general, informed by case-studies and research, rather than comprehensive
statistical information bases
¾when a national data collection exercise is undertaken (eg by the ABS), some
duplication of effort can occur with implications on respondent burden
Impact on Water Resource Management (from an NSO
perspective)
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Impacts on compilation
¾lack of consistent collection standards makes it difficult to aggregate or compile
¾lack of consistent geographical standards can also make aggregation difficult
¾many programs are funded regionally which makes top-down consistency difficult
–however there are coordination/standardisation bodies such as an Expert
Advisory Panel on Water Accounting, NWI Baseline Assessment Project and the
NLWRA and supporting jurisdiction bodies
Concluding Remarks
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The complex, interwoven, set of institutional and legal frameworks within
Australia to manage water resources does work
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An integrated information system is being developed through collaboration and a
strong commitment to addressing the need for information to monitor and
assess Australia's Water Resources